District Hits Significant Milestone with More Than 50 Percent of Students Proficient
NEW ORLEANS - The Recovery School District (RSD) has outpaced the state in the percentage of students performing at grade level and above for the fifth consecutive year, according to the statewide testing report released by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) today. The RSD grew 3.4 percentage points. With the release of the report, the RSD announced its fulfillment of Commitment 1 of the What Will It Take? report which indicates that direct-run RSD schools will improve in 2011-2012, achieving progress in students achieving Basic on LEAP, iLEAP and GEE tests.
Since 2007, the percent of students performing at Basic or above for all grades and all subjects on state assessments in RSD direct-run and charter schools in New Orleans has increased by 28 percent - the highest among Louisiana’s 71 school districts. Starting in 2007, less than one-fourth of RSD students met the mark, with only 23 percent on grade-level. This year, the RSD hit a significant milestone, with more than 50 percent of students proficient.
"The continued progress in growth of Louisiana’s school turnaround model is proof that systemic change is possible. In New Orleans, school reform is not only driving improvement in targeted schools, but throughout the community, and the bottom line is more children are succeeding," said RSD Superintendent Patrick Dobard. "I congratulate our students, teachers and school leaders on their continued growth and improvement."
In analyzing LEAP and iLEAP data for 3rd through 8th grade students, all grades showed improvement in one or more of the four noted test areas of English Language Arts (ELA), Math, Science, and Social Studies for students scoring Basic and above.
This year, the RSD improved in 4th and 8th grade LEAP scores for all subjects by two percentage points, going from 47 percent to 49 percent.
4th Grade LEAP Analysis:
- ELA remained consistent at 56 percent
- Math increased from 53 percent to 54 percent
- Science increased from 35 percent to 45 percent
- Social Studies increased from 48 percent to 49 percent
8th Grade LEAP Analysis:
- ELA and Math remained consistent at 50 percent
- Science increased from 35 percent to 40 percent
- Social Studies increased from 45 percent to 49 percent
The RSD increased the percentage of students performing above grade level at mastery and advanced from 8.7 percent to 10.3 percent. Additionally, the District moved forward in decreasing the percentage of unsatisfactory level from 22.1 percent to 19.5 percent.
RSD schools outside New Orleans continued to see growth, as well. The percentage of students at grade level grew two points, from 30 to 32 percent.
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